Integrated marine vessel hull for energy storage

ABSTRACT

A hull structure is provided for a marine vessel having an inner hull and an outer hull. An energy storage device is provided between the inner hull and outer hull. The energy storage device has one or more hollow tubes, or has a honeycomb structure. Hydrogen or oxygen can be stored and placed within the hollow tubes or honeycomb structure. A metal hydride, or liquid hydrogen or compressed hydrogen gas, as well as liquid oxygen or compressed oxygen gas can also be stored inside the hollow tubes or honeycomb structure. The dual use of the hull structure provides for an energy storage apparatus and propulsion generation system that conserves space within the marine vessel, and adds less weight to the marine vessel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to hull construction for marine vessels,and more specifically, to an integrated hull with compartments forEnergy Storage for an underwater vehicle.

2. Prior Art

Marine vessels that operate on the surface or under water are useful forperforming a variety of tasks on or below the sea surface, such asdeep-water salvage operations, navy and marine operations, underwatertelecommunications, offshore petroleum and mining, and oceanographicresearch. Many of these applications are completed by small-scaleunderwater vehicles that can be either manned or unmanned (remotelyoperated). These unmanned vehicles are commonly known as UnmannedUnderwater Vehicles (UUVs).

Generally, these small-scale marine vessels have used a variety ofconventional propulsion systems. Some of the traditionalpower/propulsion generation systems use compressed or liquid gases, suchas hydrogen and/or oxygen, for the power generation systems of theunderwater vehicle. Typical uses of these gases are fuel cells,regenerative fuel cells, high energy density batteries, high-pressuregas tanks, liquid gas tanks, and certain other types of combustors.Metal hydrides, used for storing hydrogen, are stored in containers usedexclusively for hydrogen storage. These components can be quite largeand massive, taking up significant space in the marine vessel, andslowing down the marine vessel because of their weight. In theseconventional marine vessels, mission duration is limited because of thespace available for energy storage.

However, none of the prior art provides for energy storage for powergeneration for a marine vessel system without adding significant weightto the marine vessel or taking up significant space in the marinevessel. Accordingly, there is a need for a marine vessel that providesfor energy storage for power generation of a marine vessel, without thedrawbacks found in the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a marinevessel that provides for energy storage without adding any significantweight to the marine vessel, and without taking up any additional spacein the marine vessel.

Accordingly, a marine vessel is provided, the marine vessel comprising ahull structure, and energy storage means provided within the hullstructure. The hull structure comprises an inner hull, and an outerhull, wherein the energy storage means is provided between the innerhull and outer hull.

The energy storage means can comprise one or more hollow tubes. The oneor more hollow tubes can be placed to define the marine vessel's centerof mass. The energy storage means can also comprise a honeycombstructure. The energy storage means is provided around an outerperimeter of the hull structure of the marine vessel, or is providedalong a left and right side of the marine vessel.

The energy storage means can be a means for storing hydrogen or a meansfor storing oxygen. The means for storing hydrogen can be a metalhydride, or can be liquid hydrogen or compressed hydrogen gas. The meansfor storing oxygen can be liquid oxygen or compressed oxygen gas.

The marine vessel can be an underwater vehicle, where the underwatervehicle can be either manned or unmanned.

Further, a propulsion generation system for a marine vessel is provided,the propulsion generation system comprising a hull structure of themarine vessel, energy storage means provided within the hull structureof the marine vessel, and power generation means for providing power forthe marine vessel, the power generation means utilizing energy from theenergy storage means.

The power generation means can comprise a regenerative fuel cell, or thepower generation means can comprise a combustor. The power generationmeans can also comprise a regenerative fuel cell combined with acombustor. The combustor can be a pulse detonation engine. The energystorage means can comprise a means for storing hydrogen, a means forstoring oxygen, or both.

The above and other features of the invention, including various noveldetails of construction and combinations of parts, will now be moreparticularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings andpointed out in the claims. It will be understood that the particulardevice embodying the invention is shown by way of illustration only andnot as a limitation of the invention. The principles and features ofthis invention may be employed in various and numerous embodimentswithout departing from the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the apparatus andmethods of the present invention will become better understood withregard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanyingdrawings where:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic representation of an end view of a hullstructure for a marine vessel.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic representation of a side view of a hullstructure for a marine vessel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Although this invention is applicable to numerous and various types ofenergy storage for power generation systems for marine vessels, it hasbeen found particularly useful in the environment of power generationsystems for small-scale underwater vehicles and UUVs. Therefore, withoutlimiting the applicability of the invention to underwater vehicles, theinvention will be described in such environment.

With reference to FIG. 1, there is a schematic representation of an endview of a hull structure 100 for an underwater vehicle. The hullstructure 100 comprises an outer hull 101 and an inner hull 102. Thehull structure 100 can be circular or can be any shape that is typicallyused for marine vessels and known to one or ordinary skill in the art.

An energy storage means 103 is arranged around an outer perimeter of thehull structure 100 of an underwater vehicle between the outer hull 101and inner hull 102. The energy storage means 103 can be provided alongthe entire outer perimeter of the hull structure as shown in FIG. 1, oronly a part of the outer perimeter. The energy storage means 103 cancomprise one or more tubes, which can be varied in length or size,depending on the size and length of the inner hull 102 and outer hull103. FIG. 1 shows the tubes 103 going along the entire perimeter of thehull structure 100; however, the location of the tubes can also vary todefine the underwater vehicle's center of mass.

Other shapes, such as a honeycomb, can also be used as the energystorage means 103, and can be placed between the outer hull 101 andinner hull 102. Any other shape or structure known to one of ordinaryskill in the art could also be used as the energy storage means 103within the hull structure 100.

The hollow space inside the energy storage means 103, or tubes 103, canbe a means for storing hydrogen or a means for storing oxygen, or both.If a tube or honeycomb structure is used as the energy storage means103, hydrogen can be stored in one half of the energy storage means 103,and oxygen in the other half of the energy storage means 103. Any ratiois possible depending on the requirements of the marine vessel. Thehydrogen or oxygen may be in solid form, liquid form, may be within acarrier liquid, or in compressed gas form. The means for storinghydrogen can be a metal hydride to store hydrogen for the marine vessel.Other solids, liquids and gases required for energy storage can also bestored in the energy storage means 103.

The energy storage means 103 can be used in propulsion systems formarine vessels such as those described in Applicant's copendingapplication Ser. Nos. 10/771,795, 10/819,857 and 10/951,251, all ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference. The energy storage means 103can be used as the oxygen supply and/or hydrogen supply described inthese applications.

The energy storage means 103 can be combined with a regenerative fuelcell, a combustor, or combined with both a regenerative fuel cell andcombustor, as described in the copending applications. The combustorcould be any type of combustion engine, such as a Pulse DetonationEngine. This system could be utilized in an open loop or closed loopsystem.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of a hull structure 100 with the energy storagemeans 103 running along a side of a marine vessel 105. The energystorage means can be provided along a left and/or right side of themarine vessel 105. The length of the energy storage means 103 can bevaried based on the required energy storage. If tubes or honeycombs areused as the energy storage means 103, the position, size and number oftubes or honeycombs may be varied and used to define the marine vessel'scenter of mass.

In some conventional energy systems for marine vessels, hydrogen isstored in a hydrogen supply and oxygen is stored in an oxygen supply.The hydrogen supply and oxygen supply are usually pressurized tanks, andare in fluid communication with a fuel cell or combustor (constantpressure or constant volume combustion system). The hydrogen and oxygenare typically the reactants for the fuel cell and/or combustor. Thepresent invention provides for energy storage means 103 in the hullstructure 100 of a marine vessel so that pressurized tanks are notrequired and do not add to the weight of the vehicle or take upadditional space. Thus, it is possible to build a smaller and/or fastermarine vessel.

The above descriptions of the present invention are only preferredembodiments of the present invention and are not limited by the abovedescription. Various shapes and sizes of energy storage means 103 arepossible within the hull structure 100 of the marine vessel, and are notlimited to tubes or honeycombs. Different gases that provide energy forthe marine vessel can be stored in the energy storage means 103. Thesize, length, shape and number of tubes or honeycombs can be modified inaccordance with the size of the marine vessel, the type of gas or gasesused, the amount of gases used, and the structure of the hull. Thestructure of the hull can be circular or semi-circular, or can be anytype of hull structure known to one of ordinary skill in the art. Theenergy storage means 103 does not have to provided between the innerhull 102 and outer hull 101, but can be provided anywhere within a hullstructure 100, such as inside the inner hull 102. The marine vessel canbe either manned or unmanned.

The present invention provides several advantages that solves theproblems with prior art methods. The hull structure 100 of the presentinvention provides for a method and apparatus to store energy that isembedded within the structure of the hull of the marine vessel. Thehollow space within the energy storage means 103 provides an energystorage device for the marine vessel 105. The fact that the hullstructure 100 of the marine vessel 105 has a dual use results in massand volume savings for the marine vessel 105. The invention increasessystem energy density by making dual use of the hull structure 100, andconserves space without adding any significant weight to the marinevessel 105.

While there has been shown and described what is considered to bepreferred embodiments of the invention, it will, of course, beunderstood that various modifications and changes in form or detailcould readily be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention. It is therefore intended that the invention be not limited tothe exact forms described and illustrated, but should be constructed tocover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appendedclaims.

1. A marine vessel comprising: a hull structure; and energy storagemeans provided within the hull structure.
 2. The marine vessel of claim1, wherein the hull structure comprises: an inner hull; and an outerhull; wherein the energy storage means is provided between the innerhull and outer hull.
 3. The marine vessel of claim 1, wherein the energystorage means comprises one or more hollow tubes.
 4. The marine vesselof claim 3, wherein the one or more hollow tubes are placed to definethe marine vessel's center of mass.
 5. The marine vessel of claim 1,wherein the energy storage means comprises a honeycomb structure.
 6. Themarine vessel of claim 1, wherein the energy storage means is providedaround an outer perimeter of the hull structure of the marine vessel. 7.The marine vessel of claim 1, wherein the energy storage means isprovided along a left and right side of the marine vessel.
 8. The marinevessel of claim 1, wherein the energy storage means is a means forstoring hydrogen.
 9. The marine vessel of claim 8, wherein the means forstoring hydrogen is a metal hydride.
 10. The marine vessel of claim 8,wherein the means for storing hydrogen is liquid hydrogen or compressedhydrogen gas.
 11. The marine vessel of claim 1, wherein the energystorage means is a means for storing oxygen.
 12. The marine vessel ofclaim 11, wherein the means for storing oxygen is liquid oxygen orcompressed oxygen gas.
 13. The marine vessel of claim 1, wherein themarine vessel is an underwater vehicle.
 14. The marine vessel of claim1, wherein the underwater vehicle can be either manned or unmanned. 15.A propulsion generation system for a marine vessel, the propulsiongeneration system comprising: a hull structure of the marine vessel;energy storage means provided within the hull structure of the marinevessel; and power generation means for providing power for the marinevessel, said power generation means utilizing energy from the energystorage means.
 16. The propulsion generation system for a marine vesselof claim 15, wherein the power generation means comprises a regenerativefuel cell.
 17. The propulsion generation system for a marine vessel ofclaim 15, wherein the power generation means comprises a combustor. 18.The propulsion generation system for a marine vessel of claim 15,wherein the power generation means comprises a regenerative fuel cellcombined with a combustor.
 19. The propulsion generation system for amarine vessel of claim 18, wherein the combustor is a pulse detonationengine.
 20. The propulsion generation system for a marine vessel ofclaim 15, wherein the energy storage means comprises a means for storinghydrogen.
 21. The propulsion generation system for a marine vessel ofclaim 15, wherein the energy storage means comprises a means for storingoxygen.
 22. The propulsion generation system for a marine vessel ofclaim 15, wherein the energy storage means comprises a means for storinghydrogen and a means for storing oxygen.
 23. The propulsion generationsystem for a marine vessel of claim 15, wherein the hull structurecomprises: an inner hull; and an outer hull; wherein the energy storagemeans is provided between the inner hull and outer hull.
 24. Thepropulsion generation system for a marine vessel of claim 15, whereinthe energy storage means comprises one or more hollow tubes.
 25. Thepropulsion generation system for a marine vessel of claim 15, whereinthe marine vessel is an underwater vehicle.